Posted on: Thursday, March 8, 2018
Public invited Sunday, March 11
NORTH READING – Many of the top amateur boxers in the United States and Ireland, including some 2020 Olympic hopefuls, will hold an open workout (media and public are welcome) on Sunday, March 11, from 8–10 a.m., at McNally Boxing, 48 Main St., North Reading.
The workouts are being held in preparation for USA Boxing’s upcoming three-city duels on the 2018 USA vs. Ireland Northeast Boxing Tour, starting Monday, March 12 at Boston’s Royale Entertainment Complex. This bout will be followed by match ups on Thursday, March 15 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield and conclude Wednesday, March 21 at the Manchester Downtown Hotel.
The matches commence at 7 p.m. in all three cities. Fans may go online to www.usaboxing.org for ticket information.
Jim McNally, owner of McNally Boxing, is a second-generation boxer. His father, Bernie McNally, was the 14th-rated heavyweight as a professional, three-time New England Golden Gloves champion, and undefeated during his military boxing career when he was in the U.S. Navy.
A native of Wilmington, Jim attended the University of Nevada at Las Vegas to play football and finished his education at Northeastern University. He was also a successful amateur boxer in the mid-1970s: New England Golden Gloves novice and open division champion, as well as 1975 New England AAU heavyweight gold medalist. McNally was 19-1 as a professional, rated as high as No. 17 in the world, until an injury suffered in a car accident forced him into ring retirement.
McNally worked for 28 years in the federal government, Secret Service and ATF before retiring and eventually opening McNally Boxing three years ago this past January. He has been training fighters for 35 years, including two-time world heavyweight champion John Ruiz.
“I love boxing,” McNally said. “My gym is more about fitness, right now, but it’s operated like a boxing gym. I love training and developing fighters. We should have six or seven boxers in next year’s Golden Gloves tournament in Lowell.”
He added, “Where our gym is relatively new, our members haven’t seen a lot of accomplished boxers. To have the top U.S. and Irish amateurs working out in our place is amazing. Everyone is excited and we can’t wait for their arrival.”
Team USA is led by Head Coach Billy Walsh (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who represented Ireland at the 1988 Olympics before becoming the head of the Irish boxing program for more than10 years.
Headlining Team USA’s roster are 2017 World Championship bronze medalist Troy Isley (Alexandria, Va.), 2017 Elite Continental Championships silver medalist Delante Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio), 2017 USA Boxing Heavyweight National Champion Jared Anderson (Toledo, Ohio), four-time 2017 international gold medalist Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, Texas), and 2016 Youth World Championship bronze medalist and 2017 USA Boxing Super Heavyweight National Champion Richard Torrez (Tulare, Calif.).
The full roster for each city will be released next week. All boxers and bouts are subject to change.
